Olive On a Plate

Day two of Visa Wellington On a Plate: Olive, for the lunch special ($25 for two courses + a glass of wine + coffee/tea), and their entry for the title of Burger Wellington Champion.

It’s Sunday midday, so the place is full of brunchers, many of whom are scootched up on long tables with people they don’t know. I like this about Olive, the informal, chatter-filled air that encourages the rendezvous and attracts a varied clientele.

The Dine menu starts with soup of the day (leek & potato), and beetroot hummus with warmed olives and bread. We skipped this round in anticipation of dessert, and headed straight for risotto with Island Bay Italian sausage, fresh herbs and grana padano cheese. Temping as the alternative was – cauliflower, parmesan and Zany Zeus feta fritters on Kapiti Organics salad greens with lemon aioli – I can’t go past an Island Bay banger. The risotto had plenty of it, too, imparting a fennel flavour that made up for the lack of herbs. It was tasty, creamy and competent, and in light of the whole $25 package, a gift.

The ‘Burger Me Senseless’ comprised minced chuck steak, balsamic onions, crisp lettuce, rocket and spicy aioli on a homemade potato bread bun, with a bonus side of chunky sautéed spuds. Here was a patty of real integrity, with a well-aged, gamey flavour, nice texture, and a little pink in the middle. A notable bun had good bite and a crispy crust, and the salad and onions were sound. The weak link was the sauce for while zing was needed to give things a lift, spicy aioli was delivered, powdery and kind of curried. But it was still a good burger (3.5 out of 5), and thoroughly enjoyed with a glass of The Edge Pinot Noir.

And on to dessert: the Budino. I’m no stranger to this pot of silky chocolate – an Olive classic –– but today I deduced that it tastes like that yummy chocolate Yopi we used to eat back in the eighties. We scooped it up with shards of almond biscotti, while drinking a cup of Supreme.

That’s two mains, pudding shared, two wines & coffee for $52. That’s a lot of Olive for very little.